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Truth, half truths and outright falsehoods!

How dealing with the ‘negatives’ exposes truth and can supercharge a faith

Published: 17 March 2015 (GMT+10)

Originally appeared in a CMI newsletter February 2010

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The main mandate of creation ministries like CMI is to counter a counterfeit religious philosophy that seeks to falsify the Bible. Belief in evolution stands in the way of potentially millions from accepting that God’s Word is authoritative. Although there are many Christians who believe that God somehow used evolution to create (theistic evolutionists), they have, unfortunately and perhaps unwittingly, embraced what is essentially an anti-god religious idea, often without realizing the dire consequences of doing so. After all, it should be remembered that the person who has been credited with the modern theory of evolution, Charles Darwin, even thought that evolution and the Bible were incompatible. Let’s be frank here; the Bible itself does not speak about such an evolutionary history, of millions of years of death and struggle finally giving rise to people. These ideas (and those of progressive creationists like Dr Hugh Ross, who claims that the days of Genesis speak of millions of years) come from outside the Bible, not from within it.

It is actually those who do not accept God’s Word at face value who are being divisive.

Following false leaders

Unfortunately, many see ‘creationist’ Christian leaders like Ross accepting, even embracing, such views, that undermine the foundation of the gospel by doing away with a real Fall and much more. Many think that because ‘science’ only speaks about facts, it must have authority about the issue of origins, which leads them to ‘reinterpret’ God’s Word. We said “unwittingly” earlier, because most don’t realize that the ‘science’ they are relying on is in reality a completely secular belief system used to interpret the facts. The only reason that anyone could possibly have come up with the idea that the Bible speaks of millions/billions of years is because of the constant bombardment we are all subjected to. (Before such beliefs became popular, no-one saw this as the meaning of Genesis). Many applaud this ‘harmony of modern science and Scripture’ because they think, as Hugh Ross has stated, that the creation/young-Earth issue is potentially the most divisive issue in the church, and such a harmony will cause people to actually consider what the Bible says. So ministries like CMI that critique evolutionary revisionisms of the Bible get tarred with this ‘divisive’ brush, because the ‘science’ of evolution is such a widely accepted ‘fact’.

However, this is a completely incorrect premise. It is actually those who do not accept God’s Word at face value who are being divisive. By accepting the secular view of origins science they are diminishing the authority and the value of God’s Word to the masses. In any case the original evolutionists were the ancient Greek philosophers that predated Christ. Evolutionism has its roots in anti-God paganism. We are therefore following the example of the Apostles who saw it as their role to:

“ …demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).

The reason that millions reject Christianity is because they think the Bible is wrong when it speaks about, or touches on, areas of science. However, that problem is not solved by adding evolutionary ideas to the Bible. If the Bible does not mean what it says in its first book then why should any non-believers accept any of it? Even the atheists get it. Take this well-known quote from Richard Bozarth as far back as the February 1978 issue of American Atheist. He wrote:

“It becomes clear now that the whole justification of Jesus’ life and death is predicated on the existence of Adam and the forbidden fruit he and Eve ate. Without the original sin, who needs to be redeemed? Without Adam’s fall into a life of constant sin terminated by death, what purpose is there to Christianity? None. What all this means is that Christianity cannot lose the Genesis account of creation … Christianity is fighting for its very life.”

It’s a spiritual battle

So why are so many Christians falling for this? Perhaps these atheists should be preaching from the pulpits in our more liberal churches and theological colleges. Once the foundational teaching of Genesis is undermined, then the atoning death of Christ (and thus Christianity) becomes irrelevant. The foundational bedrock of humanism is evolution, because if there is no God, no Creator, then nobody made us, owns us or sets the rules. So is it any wonder then that people simply do what is right in their own eyes? It seems ironic that those opposing evolutionary theory and promoting what the Lord Jesus clearly believed should be called divisive. The theory of evolution and its logical immoral fruit is the antithesis of everything Christian. One devout humanist said:

“I am convinced that the battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith: a religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the spark of what theologians call divinity in every human being. These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the educational level—preschool day care or large state university. The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new—the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism … .”1

So why are so many people convinced about evolution? At CMI we have long pointed out that the type of science that led to laptop computers and rocket ships is different from the science of the past that neither evolutionists nor creationists were there to observe. We only have ‘facts’ like rock layers and fossils etc. in the present day. But in some cases, more like outright deception can be involved. ‘Half-truths’ are where information is omitted or even misrepresented to try and convince someone of your version of events.

Two facts—one lie!

For example, one might be visiting a geological landmark and see a sign or hear information from a tourist guide saying, “The canyon is over 3,000 feet deep (true), it has a river running through it (true), and it has taken over 2 million years for the river to erode the canyon (unknown).” The first two are facts or simple observations, but the last statement is an interpretation or extrapolation of those facts that cannot possibly be known (unless one was there for the whole duration of erosion). Or it might be the case that the river did not erode the canyon at all, because it may have been eroded through rapid catastrophic volcanic activity or even mud flows. Here’s another example.

Perhaps these atheists should be preaching from the pulpits in our more liberal churches and theological colleges.

“This fossil is the leg bone of a Tyrannosaurus rex (true). This specimen was a meat eater (true—we might be able to determine this from its fossilized stomach contents or fossilized fecal matter known as coprolites). And the fossil is 65 million years old (false).” There is no scientific test that one can do to prove the age of the fossil. Such statements fall into the realm of beliefs about the past and such interpretations are derived because of one’s starting assumptions. The scientist making the statement already believes evolution to be true and so he interprets the facts within that framework of belief. But the average layperson equates the third or last statement with the truth of the previous two. When creationists point this out we are often confronted with invectives like, “How can you ignore the fossil record? How can you not believe that dinosaurs lived millions of years ago?”

But we press on because pointing out the fallacious aspects of some of these statements, and understanding the distinction between facts and half-truths about science can be, and is, liberating for many. It’s like removing the scales from their eyes. That’s why it is so important for creation ministries to produce and widely share information. For the Christian, it can restore an ebbing confidence in the veracity of God’s Word, and Christians who are confident in what they believe are much more likely to reach others and affect their world for Christ!

Christians … renewed, reenergized and reactive!

Over the years we have literally received thousands of testimonies to this effect. One of our speakers recounted a meeting where he said that he:

“ … encountered a man who said that a creation presentation had ‘supercharged his faith’ years ago resulting in him becoming a pastor. One (mid 30’s) guy spoke to me afterwards and said he was a science teacher in a public school and came across our ministry about a year ago and has been devouring everything since and even teaching what he can to his students.”

Notice how the real truth is also highly motivational. We all love to share things we’ve just learned. The reenergizing and enthusiasm reminds us of how brand new Christians share their faith with just about everyone they encounter. Graeme S. wrote to us to say:

“I have many happy memories of both reading for my own instruction your Creation magazine and passing them on to my grand-daughters for their interest in times past, they now have grow[n] and developed their own lives in the Lord.”

These children have obviously been taught to discern truths from half-truths in the same way that Pierre S. explained. He said:

“For a while, I was heading into compromise with theistic evolutionism. People like [progressive creationist] Hugh Ross and Francis Collins seemed to sound so ‘scientific’, but I found myself losing faith in the Bible. I’m encouraged and strengthened by your work, and I think that your ministry is a good example of how strong people can be when they refuse to compromise the Word of God for godless human wisdom.”

As one can see, compromise on God’s Word achieves little. People are drawn to the truth, not confusion (John 8:32). Don’t be discouraged by those who have swallowed the false humanistic philosophy of evolution/long ages. Sadly, much of it is based upon ignorance because they’ve never heard information for a sound biblical and scientific defense of a literal and historical Genesis. But with your continued support we will continue to fight the good fight and continue to spread the life-changing information of Creation.

And I’ll leave you with just another example of the power and truth of God’s Word, from Christopher C. who wrote:

“Thank you all at Creation Ministries for helping to bolster my faith in God and Creation. I am a former evolutionist or I should say theistic evolutionist who thought that the Bible and evolution could be reconciled but after browsing your website and a few scientific websites I see the evidence for evolution does not add up … But thank the Lord for your ministry for opening my eyes.”

Readers’ comments

Although I cannot add anything of great value to this beautiful overview, I might add this little tidbit. It seems to me that fewer and fewer people today "diligently" seek the truth of Creator God, from Him, in spite His telling us "seek and you shall find". Instead, I've found that most people, who subscribe to any of the tenets of evolutionism, not only show contempt for God and His word, preserved without error over millennia of time, in the midst of wars and chaos among nations, numerous copies and forgeries, etc, but they also show that they hold greater esteem for anti-Christ doctrines of god-rejecting men and apostate Bible teachers. God is generous with His knowledge, but He withholds it from those that do not seek it and from those who are otherwise antagonistic toward Him and His truth.

Good Morning, Your article peeked my interest as I read "Truth, half-truths & outright falsehoods". Within the past year God has been taking me into a study of Truths, lies and deceptions which I have been sharing with my pastor/friend. The importance of His TRUTH is paramount for us to know and share . Jesus told His disciples that the ' Comforter would come and that He would lead us into all Truth - John 14:26 "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." He will lead us, guide us , teach us. time and again God reveals Himself as teacher. Jesus is the Truth, the Life , the Way, He will never lead us from Truth.. I am so thankful for your stand on Truth. May God bless you all and your ministry tremendously.

" ... Christianity is fighting for its very life." (Richard Bozarth, 1979, quoted in the above article.)

Yes, indeed it is fighting - but we're not battling in our own strength, and alone; and we know that with Christ's power the victory of His true Church is certain in the end! But folk such as me for instance, who have little or no scientific background, are unable to fight effectively against evolution without knowledge and help in how to do it. So just at the right time God, Who never leaves Himself without a witness, brought into being ministries like CMI. Such ministries bravely emphasize the Scripture's truth and teach us how to rightly use that truth - to the Lord's own honour and glory.

Go for it, Gary, you and your colleagues! May the Lord be with you all, as you help equip us to fight for the truth taught so plainly in God's Word. What a vital task this is, in these days when the stranglehold of evolution hinders the spreading of the Gospel and results in so many leaving the churches. The Lord will win in the end, yes; but His army must do its best to minimize the 'casualties' along the way. So please continue in your God-given work, CMI - all strength and blessings to you!

I have a request - could you please give the name of the individual who made this statement,
quote- One devout humanist said:

“I am convinced that the battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith: a religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the spark of what theologians call divinity in every human being. These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the educational level—preschool day care or large state university. The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new—the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism … .
thank you in advance.
Rodney Allsworth

Rodney, at the end of the quote in the article you will see a footnote reference number. Click on it and it takes you to the bottom of the article where you will see the source. Then click 'return to text' and it takes you back to your previous place in the article.

“Perhaps these atheists should be preaching from the pulpits in our more liberal churches and theological colleges.”

But they already do! From Daniel Dennett and Linda LaScola’s article, “Preachers Who are not Believers,” Evolutionary Psychology 8, no. 1, March 2010. (Quoted in McCormick, M.S., Atheism and the Case Against Christ, p. 265.) “Here’s how I’m handling my job on Sunday mornings: I see it as play acting. I kind of see myself as taking on a role of a believer in a worship service, and performing. Because I know what to say. I know how to pray publicly. I can lead singing. I don’t believe what I’m saying anymore in some of these songs...But I see it as taking on the role and performing. So maybe there’ll be a divorce between myself and the Presbyterian Church….If someone said, “Here’s $200,000,” I’d be turning my notice in this week, saying, “A month from now is my last Sunday.” Because then I can pay off everything.”

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